“I don’t think they surprised us,’’ said Celtics guard Ray Allen. “They did everything we expected them to do. I can’t really say we were tired. We missed a lot of shots. We didn’t have a great rhythm. We have to give them credit for the type of game they played. They played a great game and we were able to withstand them in the fourth quarter and come out with the victory.’’
Kendrick Perkins (13 points) lost the statistical duel with former teammate Al Jefferson (18 points), and no Celtic could match the inside-outside threat of Oleksiy Pecherov (24 points). But Perkins and Co. came through when it mattered most.
“I think it was more us than them,’’ Perkins said. “[Tuesday] we had a clinic on sharing the ball, [last] night it was sticking a little bit with everybody. Everybody at one point in time could have made the extra pass and we didn’t. We’re a team; with our offense, we’ve got to make the extra pass. If a guy’s open, we’ve got to get it there on time. We took a lot of contested shots that we usually don’t take and some games will be like that. I’m just happy we got the win.’’
The Celtics trailed by as many as 10 points early in the second half and did not hold more than a 1-point lead until 5:34 remained.
Jefferson’s low-post play got the Timberwolves off to a strong start, then Pecherov took over. The Wolves were in control for most of the game, but the Celtics’ second unit (plus Paul Pierce) rallied in the second quarter. Then, the Celtic starters made stands to start the second half and in the final minutes.
Pierce’s 3-point play provided an 87-84 lead with 5:34 remaining. After Corey Brewer’s drive and Pecherov’s low-post move gave Minnesota the lead, the Celtics went to an inside-out play with Kevin Garnett finding Rajon Rondo for a layup and an 89-88 lead with 4:18 left.
